Do you have a dream?
Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream and now it’s a reality in our time.
In this post, is one of the greatest speeches ever delivered on Earth
I have learnt a great deal from this speech and I hope you learn something from this speech also…

“I Have a Dream,” Address delivered at the March
on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
28 August 1963
Washington, D.C

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for
freedom in the history of our nation. [applause]
Fivescore years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed theEmancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions
of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak
to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. [Audience:] (My Lord) One hundred years later,the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of
discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a
vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later (My Lord) [applause], the Negro is still
languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve
come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote
the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence (Yeah), they were
signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all
men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights of Life,
Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this
promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred
obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked
“insufficient funds.” [Sustained applause]
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. (My Lord) [laughter] (Sure enough) We
refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And
so we’ve come to cash this check (Yes), a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom
(Yes) and the security of justice. [applause]
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no
time (My Lord) to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.
[Applause] Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. (My Lord) Now is the time to rise
from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time
[applause] to lift our nation from the quicksand’s of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
Now is the time [applause] to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the
Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and
equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro
needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to
business as usual. [applause] There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is
granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our
nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into
the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful
deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and
hatred. (My Lord) [applause] We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and
discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and
again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous
new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white
people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize
that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. [applause] And they have come to realize that their
freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” (Never)
We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police
brutality. We can never be satisfied [applause] as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel,
cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. [applause] We cannot be
satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be
satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs
stating “for whites only.” [applause] We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot
vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. (Yes) [applause] No, no, we
are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like
a mighty stream.” [applause]
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. (My Lord)
Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your
quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution (Yes) and staggered by the winds of
police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that
unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi (Yes), go back to Alabama, go back to South
Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern
cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. (Yes) Let us not wallow in the
valley of despair.
I say to you today, my friends [applause], so even though we face the difficulties of today and
tomorrow, I still have a dream. (Yes) It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day (Yes) this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” (Yes) [applause]
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of
former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice
(Well), sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.I have a dream (Well) [applause] that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they
will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. (My Lord) I have a
dream today. [Applause]I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips
dripping with the words of “interposition” and “nullification” (Yes), one day right there in Alabama
little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as
sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. [Applause]
I have a dream that one day “every valley shall be exalted (Yes), and every hill and mountain shall be
made low; the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight (Yes); and
the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.” (Yes)
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. (Yes) With this faith we will be able
to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. (Yes) With this faith we will be able to
Transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. (Talk about it)
With this faith (My Lord) we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, and to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. [Applause] This
Will be the day [applause continues], this will be the day when all of God’s children (Yes) will be able
To sing with new meaning:
My country, ’tis of thee (Yes), sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my father’s died, land of the pilgrim’s pride (Yes),
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring (Yes) from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. (Yes, that’s right)
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. (Well)
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. (Yes)
But not only that: Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. (Yes)
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. (Yes)
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. (Yes)
From every mountainside, let freedom ring. [Applause]
And when this happens [applause continues], when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from
Every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city (Yes), we will be able to speed up that
Day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and
Catholics will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! (Yes) Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last! [Applause]

Hope you have learnt a great deal while reading this post, Do not give up on your Country

“Most people would succeed in small things if they were not so troubled with great ambitions” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Never be discouraged when you make progress, no matter how slow or small. Be only weary of standing” – John Mason Neale

Do not give up on yourself, Never! Ever!! Ever!!! Give up on yourself.
At one time or the other, situations and challenges would arise that would make you think of throwing in the towel. Rather than giving up remain strong, every challenge is a stepping stone to an higher height, don’t give up. Most people that ever achieved anything meaningful did not give up on themselves even when all the odds were against them. Your future is bright and you have a nice destiny but you have to learn to start from where you are, from your present position, what you do today would determine where you would be in matter of years from now. Make plans for the future, a Japanese adage once said.

“Make plan, big plans attract big people. Don’t make small plans, small plans attract small people and small people cause big problems.” – Japanese Adage
Plan for your future; make big plans for your future, but start from where you are. Solve the immediate challenges surrounding you, be a solution to problem, be a problem solver. If you are diligent in little things grater things would be entrusted into your hands. A practical Example of someone that was able to pull through her challenge and problems is Helen Keller; Helen Keller was able to turn her situation around. See every challenge as an opportunity, don’t give up on yourself.

American lecturer and writer Helen Keller overcame severe physical disabilities, inspiring many other people to similar accomplishments. Deaf and blind from the age of 19 months, Keller learned to communicate with the help of her teacher, Anne Sullivan. Sullivan taught Keller to read Braille and to “listen” by feeling a speaker’s face. Keller graduated from Radcliffe College in 1904 and authored a number of books about her experiences.
A movie “The Miracle Worker” was shot to narrate her experience.

Anne Sullivan saw an opportunity to make a difference, she was able to see hope were others saw disability. While watching City of Ember, a movie I learnt the lesson below;

“Pay close attention to everything, everything you see, notice what no one else notices.
What you get is what you get. What you do with what you get that’s very important”.

Never give up on a situation, Just like Helen Keller there is hope for you, God can make a message out of your mess.

GIVE IT ALL THAT IT TAKES don’t give up. Do your best in every situation, I have to see in my own life that if at all times I give Life’s challenges my best effort.
As you read this blog post, remember to give every situation in your life all that it takes, don’t just read this blog post do well to leave a comment.
Thanks to everybody that read my last blog post, and most especially to those that placed a comment on it.

Let’s continue from where we stopped in my last blog post. An occurrence occurred this week that is going change the course of our topic, its all about the good old days… I love the Educational sector in the good old day because it was really a beauty to behold, my present Institution (Obafemi Awolowo University (O.A.U)) used to be Africa’s most beautiful campus, it was said of the institution that there was a time where students were served food (chicken) in the café for free, students were offered scholarship by the school and the F.G., it was ranked among one of the best in the world, the same can not be said this day of the institution. The present Educational sector can not be compared to those of yester years.

On the 16th of June (2009-06-18), an historic event took place when the students of the above named tertiary institution decided to go on lecture boycott in other to challenge the status quo, the students did not embark on the lecture boycott to demand for chicken, rather they were basically asking the management to provide them with adequate power supply and portable water. The students came out in there thousands (over six thousand students) to embark on a peaceful protest, matching from their Halls of Residence to the Schools Gate, and then Senate before they later embarked on another journey to the Osun State Government House where they went g to protest the under funding of the Educational sector, they were asked the present government to appropriate 26 percent of the total budget to Education according to UNESCO standard.

In the words of John F. Kennedy “Our progress as a nation can not be swifter than our progress in Education” in other words if Nigeria as a country would have to move forward then we must first address the issue of Education. A lot of Nigerians have gone through the schooling process but in the real sense of things they have only received certificates without education, they are the kind of people my Dad refers to as “Educated illiterate”. If a Nation were to develop by the amount of graduate produced especially first class students that it produces then Nigeria should have been one of the best Nations in the world. A lot of anomalous exist in the system.

REALITY CHECK 1 2, thank God we know our problems, thank God we desire a change, Thank God the present, and much more the future can even be better than the past. All we need is a change, but we are the change that we desire. We have to constantly talk about it, vote the right people to power look at the future implications of our decision and therefore make the right decisions. Now is the time to look at our present, face the Reality. It’s high time we access ourselves and move forward.

What’s your stake on Nigeria’s present level of Education? Don’t just read this blog post do well to leave your comment because your opinion counts…

MAY 29 1999, was just like yesterday, when we all embraced democracy with open arms, with high hopes we expected a lot from the government, we were looking for a set of leaders that would take us to the promise land, one decade after what can we show for our democracy.

I see a lot of Nigerians these days castigate the leaders and shout that the Nation is corrupt, when in the real sense of things they themselves are. They yearn for the good old days, and crave for it to come back, they look at the past achievement of the Nation they console themselves in it, they complain about the present and they have no vision for the future. All they see is loop holes and anomalies in every sector of the nation.

I also cherish the good old days, although most of the things that I know about the good old days are hearsays, things that I read, as I was not yet born or at least I was but a child at that time, I therefore do not have a full grasp of that time. The good old days when we had a robust economy, good exchange rate, standard education, good roads… a lot of good things is characterised with the good old days. However, even the good old days had some challenges, setbacks and worse still some evils. Military rule was a basic characteristic of the past, injustice and decadence associated with the desire for power, mounting external debt, lack of proper infrastructure, etc…

My basic concern in this post is to talk about tomorrow, the future, not to shatter the experiences of the good old days, the past, rather let us learn from the good old days, correct the wrongs in the good old days, but let us stop living in the good old days. It’s high time we understood that the future of the nation depend on our individual decision as a person. Lets stop living in the glory of the past rather let us take upon ourselves the responsibility of Nation building.

“Never ask what your country can do for you, rather ask what you can do for your country.” How have you fared in Nigeria’s ten years of democracy?, what quota have you contributed to the nation’s development, do you only please yourself by seeing the lapses of each administration, or do you use your creative thought to proffer solution to how the nation can move forward? Learn to appreciate a positive change when you see one.

Today is the present, REALITY CHECK 1, 2. How far have we gone with democracy?